Blood containing genetic material (including DNA or RNA) to be analyzed has typically been transported from the place of removal, from a human or animal, to the place of analysis as purified genetic material, liquid whole blood, frozen whole blood or whole blood dried onto paper. However, all of these methods have disadvantages. Transport of genetic material in blood as dried, purified genetic material is most desirable, but it requires a high standard of technical assistance to be available at the place of removal from the human or animal. When technical assistance is not available at the place of removal, whole blood or other unpurified samples are usually sent to a central facility where the genetic material is purified.
Transport of liquid whole blood often involves the need for sterility of collection. Under some circumstances, this is extremely inconvenient, for example, where the sample is a heel-prick taken from an infant. The transport of liquid whole blood or frozen blood may also require temperature controlled transport or a transport system other than the regular postal system. This is true even before considering public health concerns. In addition, concern over pathogens associated with whole blood, such as the HIV virus, generally rule out the transport of a potentially infectious liquid or frozen sample except under proper and expensive supervision.
Transport of blood dried on filter paper is a proven alternative to the above procedures. Genetic material can be extracted and isolated from whole blood spots which are dried on filter paper, in a form and in sufficient quantities for use in genetic analysis. McCabe, E. R. B., et al., "DNA Microextraction From Blood Spots on Filter Paper Blotters: Potential Screening Applications to Newborn Screening," Hum. Genet. 75:213-216 (1987). However, the procedure still suffers from a number of disadvantages. For example, typically, there has been no deliberate and rapid destruction of blood associated microorganisms. The presence of pathogenic microorganisms may create a potential hazard for blood handling personnel. Moreover, some microorganisms may cause damage to the genetic material. While some inhibition of microorganisms may occur through desiccation, it is known that slow desiccation, or even a small degree of rehydration under conditions of high relative humidity, may allow the growth of DNA or RNA destroying microflora.
Another disadvantage of present methods for dry transport of genetic material in blood is a lack of deliberate inhibition of processes which degrade genetic material. Hence, even in the presence of a bacteriostatic agent there are conditions that permit enzymatic, nonenzymatic and autolytic breakdown of the genetic material. Furthermore, using presently available methods of dry storage, considerable difficulty is encountered if desorption of high molecular weight DNA or RNA is required. The surface adsorption affects can cause loss of genetic material which may cause the preferential loss of the least degraded, i.e., the most desired class of DNA or RNA molecules.
Thus, there is a need for a safe, convenient and minimally labor intensive means for storage of a genetic material which is contained in a liquid sample.
However, even if a sample of genetic material is collected in a safe, convenient and reliable form for storage, subsequent analysis of the stored sample may give rise to logistic problems. This is especially true when there are many different types of analyses to be performed on a collected sample. The logistics tend to become even more complex when multiple samples are submitted for analysis.
For example, some methods of analysis of genetic material for a specific genetic sequence, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, require use of an oligonucleotide primer-pair. Generally a different primer-pair is used for each sequence analysis to be performed. And, because there are an extremely large number of possible primer pairs (for example, one for each sequence within the genes of humans, animals and all other living organisms including the pathogens of humans and animals), multiple sequence analyses in a single sample may give rise to immense logistic problems. The problems are potentially greater when multiple samples of genetic material are received for analysis, such as at a centralized analyzing facility.
Automated analysis of genetic material provides enhanced efficiency for processing large numbers of samples. However, automated analysis of a sample of genetic material still requires the automated system to have separate delivery devices for each different set of primers to prevent the occurrence of cross-contamination. Therefore, the range of genetic sequence analyses which can be performed at one time may be restricted due to the inherent problem of cross contamination of primers. Hence, there is a need for reducing the restrictions against analyzing multiple sequences or multiple samples of genetic material using automated systems.